#being fearless

[mkaneshige]

The Sign

The sign of a true writeris one that writeswith true joyandwithout any fear

[kittyprincessofcats]

ICJ Ruling

Okay, let's get into this.

First of all, I get the frustration at the court not ordering a ceasefire. I was disappointed and frustrated at first too, since a ceasefire was the biggest and most important preliminary measure South Africa was requesting - and of course we just all want this horror to finally end for the people in Gaza. So I get the frustration and disappointment, I really do.

However, I do think this ruling is still a major win for South Africa, Palestine, and international law as a whole and here's why:

The court acknowledged that it has jurisdiction over this case and completely dismissed Israel's request to throw out the case as a whole. It will now determine at the merits stage (that will probably take years) whether Israel is actually commiting genocide.

The court acknowledged that Palestinians are a "distinct national or ethnic group and therefore deserving of protection under the genocide convention". Pull this out next time someone tells you "there's no such thing as Palestinians, they're all just Arabs".

The court acknowledged very unambiguously that "at least some" of Israel's actions being genocidal in nature is "plausible". South Africa has a case, officially. Israel is accused of genocide, in a way the ICJ deems "plausible", officially. This is huge. (And seriously, how freaking satisfying was it to hear all of those genocidal statements by Israeli politicians read out loud and used as justification for this rulling?)

The court might not have ordered a "ceasefire" in those words, but they did order Israel to "immediately end all genocidal acts" (which includes killing and injuring Palestinians) and submit proof that they actually did. How are they going to comply with this ruling without at least severly reducing or changing what they're doing in Gaza?

In fact, this wording might actually be more appropriate for a genocide (vs a war), as author and journalist Ali Abunimah notes on Twitter:

He's completely right. Israel lost today, by overwhelming majority (I mean, 15 to 2? I heard people predict the rulings would be very close, like 9 judges vs 8, but instead we got 15 to 2 (and even 16 to 1 on the humanitarian aid). Holy shit.) The court disimissed almost everything Israel's side of lawyers said, while acknowledging that South Africa's accusations are "plausible".

And this is important especially because of Mr Abunimah's second tweet there^. Because the question is, where do we go from here?

This ruling means that Israel is officially /possibly/ commiting genocide and that should have huge international consequences. The rest of the world now HAS to take these accusations seriously and stop arming and supporting Israel - and if they won't do it on their own, we, the people, have to make them. This is THE moment to rise up all around the world, especially in the countries most supportive of Israel (the US, the UK, Germany): Protest, call your representatives and demand a ceasefire and an end of arms deliveries to Israel.

We now have a legal case to back our demands: If Israel is, according to the ICJ, "plausibly" commiting genocide, then all of our governments are, according to the ICJ, "plausibly" guiltly of aiding in genocide. And we need to hold that over their heads and demand better. We need to do that right now and in huge numbers. Most politicians only care about themselves and saving their skin. We have to make them realize that they could be accused of aiding in genocide.

(As a German, I'm thinking of Germany here in particular: After South Africa's hearing, our government dismissed their case as having "no basis" - how are they going to keep saying that now that the ICJ officially thinks otherwise? Over the last months, people here have been arrested at protests for calling what's happening in Gaza a genocide. How are the police supposed to legally keep doing that now that the ICJ has officially deemed this accusation "plausible"? I used to be scared to use the word "genocide" at protests or write it on my protest signs - not anymore, have fun trying to arrest me for that when the ICJ literally has my back on this one 🖕🏻.)

So yeah - don't be defeatist about this, don't let Israel's narrative that they "won" (they didn't) take over. This might not be everything we wanted, but it's still a good result. Don't let what the court didn't say ("ceasefire"), distract you from the very important things that they did say. Let this be your motivation to get loud and active, especially if you live in any country that supports Israel. Put pressure on your governments to not be complicit in genocide, you now officially have the highest international court on your side.

[jessmalia]

“Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone. I love you and that's all I really know. I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress. It's a love story, baby, just say 'Yes’.”  The music starts playing like the end of a sad movie. It's the kind of ending you don't really wanna see. ‘Cause it’s tragedy and it'll only bring you down.

[brainrotcharacters]

You know what would devastate me? Professor X or Magneto seeing current poolverine and losing their shit.

That said, do it.

[ph-cutie]

Something pretty remarkable about how disco elysium handles its characters is that their demographic circumstances tend to be addressed very head on by the narrative. race, class, gender etc, ideology/lifestyle to some extent. It often colors large parts of their lives and the context they exist in. And these characters are also appraised by critics for the nuance and interiority, players remark that they feel like "real people", Because the writers cared to write complex personhoods Around these factors, rather than flattening them all into "regular" people, unshaped by demographic, in fear of being accused of propagating stereotypes

[sysig]

Two skeletons in a trench lab coat (Patreon)

Bonus:

He’s very careful! Everything was fine before you interrupted!

[letters-of-libertas]

Building confidence as a conventionally unattractive woman part 2 [with context]

In the first part I spoke about why it's important to build confidence as a conventionally unattractive woman & briefly touched on why low confidence can be caused and this post will focus on how to build confidence despite being conventionally unattractive that goes beyond ✨️just glow up✨️

Summary here

Know that this is going to be an uphill battle, saddle up partner - this wont be overnight work and will require consistency.

Speaking of battles, learn to pick the worthy ones - confidence is not about fighting everything & being the big girl. Sometimes the most confident (+ beneficial & safest) thing you can do is leave people in their delusion, their words don't determine you.

Carve a safe loving environment/space for yourself - Tough but most crucial advice here. When you're younger you have less control over your environment but as an adult you have slightly more control over where & who you want to be around. Gravitate to spaces that see you beyond your looks, stay away from negative places/people. Contrary to popular belief, strength & confidence doesn't always come from abusive environments but loving, safe, and secure environments. You're used to a level of standard so you're not going to be willing to accept less. Being in spaces where you're loved, defended, and appreciated can improve your confidence. You wont take shit knowing it doesn't have to be that way. I remember seeing a reddit post on a guy who tries making this attractive woman feel bad bc she wont date him. He brought cookies to an event & didn't give her any to make her feel left out but other people offered her some & she refused. This only made him feel worse. Bullying & toxicity only thrive in environments that allow it so if you're in a place with high amounts of negativity - find another place or build your own. There are always options.

There are always options - Following from the above. Know that there's always alternatives. Other people, other places, other environments, another choice, etc. Dont feel chained to a specific place, easier said than done but keep it in mind you dont have to take crap from places. Give yourself permission to explore.

Work on coming to terms with trauma you've endured due to your looks - Learn to handle your trauma either by therapy or another means because your trauma is going to keep interfering with your life when you least expect it.

Come to terms with being unattractive - If you own it, it can't effectively be weaponised against you. Traits of confident people isn't that they're perfect but they own their shit & know others aren't perfect either.

Learn to do things on your own/upskill - before the community commies come after me like iTs NaTuRe tO fOrM cOmMuNiTy; 1. I address a lot of this in this post but I'll highlight one point which is that whether you like it or not you're not going to have community. You're not going to receive support anyways. Dont waste time on others, focus on yourself. You only have yourself so give yourself what you can.

Be comfortable being the villain - Dont aim to be liked or disliked, have a purpose; stand for something and focus on that instead. Other people don't have to understand you anyways. It sucks but people will view your actions in a bad light (opposite to the halo effect) no matter what you do so own your shit instead.

Understand the impacts - The world aint kind to many but it's especially cruel if you're deemed conventionally unattractive. Know the impacts of this (such as more of your actions being perceived negatively) so you can navigate them better.

Be less apologetic - Truth is, when you're physically ugly all of your actions will be seen in a bad light no matter what. Made a mistake? Got a partner? Helped someone good? Did something good? Got an achievement? Got a good job? It will be seen as negative anyways and at some point with this constant negativity some will feel apologetic about their very existence. Instead, don't be apologetic & turn the spotlight back to them. You did xyz, so what? They can shut up & stay seething.

Learn to be witty - Many people are going to try and humble you or start shit with you even as you mind your own business. You'll be more confident when you're able to own your shit & shut others down.

Be adaptable - Being able to wing it & wade through situations will boost your confidence. Most things in life aren't planned, the more you're able to adapt the better you'll get at handling thing which can improve your confidence.

Accept & realise some most things are out of your control - this sucks but can also be an advantage. You can do everything right, have powerful cards and still lose. However you can also do everything wrong and still win. This takes me to the next point.

Learn to detach - Tying yourself too close to things or people leads to dependency which leads to anxiety. Learn to do things without attaching yourself too much. Do things for a higher purpose than the individual or just purely for the hell of it. Get used to doing things (either positive or negative) without attaching yourself to the outcome.

Dont take things personal - 9/10 times people will treat you based on factors you cant control. This isn't to say to not feel a type of way about how people treat you feel but try not to internalise it. Internalising it only knocks your confidence down. It sucks but it is what it is.

Find a source of strength & confidence - This will be your answer to why you SHOULD be confident. Why you should speak up. Why you should put yourself out there if you want. Why you should be okay when you get push back, etc.

Be okay with silence. Pause - You dont have to respond to or acknowledge everything especially if it doesn't serve you.

Study & mirror traits of confident people - Self explanatory, fake it till you make it & doing this will point you in the right direction.

You don't have to always justify yourself - This is important to bear in mind cause when you're conventionally unattractive your actions will always be seen in a bad light. It doesn't matter what good you do it's the opposite of the halo effect. When you dont care to be defensive & justify your actions, people have less ammo against you. Over explaining and trying to make people understand will do more harm than good. If people want to understand you they will, if not they wont & nothing you do will help.

Focus on the now over what was or could be - Mindfulness gets a lot of hate but a degree of it is honestly helpful for some situations.

Turn the spotlight back on others - As mentioned nobody is perfect anyways. If it comes to it, dont justify yourself focus on others instead. Take the focus away from whatever they're trying to highlight on you. I remember when a woman posted on twitter & people came for her size, she obliterated them by insulting their life circumstances over justifying her size. After this happened with a couple selfies she posted, trolls greatly reduced.

Move with purpose - Have focus and deprioritise the rest. When you have no solid concrete purpose you're prone to caring about everything including irrelevant stuff.

Own your shit (even if you're wrong) - People can tell when you're not confident & will take advantage of that in most cases. Also learn how to present a confident fromt until your confidence actually improves.

Surround yourself with other confident people - A lot of other points already touch on the benefits of this but I'll add that the people you surround yourself with make up a big part of who you are. Surrounding yourself with confident people can also inspire confidence in you.

[sometimesmaybespoof]

When she Half on my Life till I 2

[scrumptiousstuffs]

Our unhinged besties after successfully dethroning Madam Lilly (BTS)

Source: Dunk and Jojo’s Twitter

The Heart Killers EP11 (BTS)

05/02/2025

[pols-doodles]

Some narrow gauge human designs !!!

[rickybaby]

Genuine question as I am curious — I know it’s pretty obvious with his expressions/ body language that Daniel seemed shy/insecure(?) about having his braces, but has he ever outright said anything about feeling that way with them? Just out of curiosity as I am new around here!

“I feel very different in terms of looks. Fortunately, experience also bought me better looks. I’m not really too fond of showing people photos of me when I was younger”

[littlesmokesceenfan]

Thinking about how Darkmount NV is the most scared Smokescreen ever been in the whole show.

Edit: I accidentally misremember Darkest Hour as Darkmount NV my bad

[hatepotion]

i wasn't gonna post these but here are some of the lil prints i made for last weekend's art market :)

(eras tour poster sticker sheet under the cut!)

[mytaylorisswift]

She can't hide how much she enjoys performing.

[blahlahblash]

New Shadow render REDRAW?!??!?!?!?!?!?>@W@".e

[meaningtotellyou]

growing up with taylor in real time has been something so beautiful to me